Concrete mixing and distributing apparatus



March 4, 1947. D. c. PORTER 2,416,771

CONCRETE MIXING AND DISTRIBUTING APPARATUS Filed April 21, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet l ,Dan afarter,

March 4, 1947. D. c. PORTER 2,416,771

CONCRETE MIXING AND DISTRIBUTING APPARATUS Filed April 21, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 ,Dan aParzer;

March 4, 1947.

CONCRETE MIXING AND DISTRIBUTING APPARATUS D. c. PORTER FiIed April 21, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet I5 gym/whom ,Dan/ afar-tel;

Patented Mar. 4, 1947 CONCRETE MIXING AND DISTRIBUTING APPARATUS Don 0. Porter, Tacoma, Wash., assignor to Chain Belt Company, Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application April 21, 1944, Serial No. 532,125

The invention relates to concrete mixing and. distributing apparatus, and has for one of its objects to provide apparatus of this character which is mounted upon the chassis of a road vehicle for rap-id transport from place to place, and in which, so far as mixing is concerned, the advantages accruing from feeding the raw materials in at one end of the machine and discharging the mixed concrete at the other end are secured, while as regards distribution of the mixture, the advantages of the well known tower and chute method are obtained.

A further object of the invention is to provide a highly mobile machine, the mixing and distributing unit or which is mounted upon the vehicle chassis for rotation about a substantially vertical axis whereby it may operate in nearly any horizontal angular relation to the chassis, thus materially reducing the movements of the vehicle incident to spotting the apparatus at the job.

Further objects of the invention are to provide an improved chassis construction for mounting an apparatus of the character described; to provide an improved tower construction; and to provide a machine capable of equalizing, at least to some extent, inequalities between the production and distribution of the mixture.

One form of apparatus constructed in according with the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which like reference characters designate like parts in all the views, and, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational View of the machine, with the parts shown in the positions they occupy during transport from place to place;

Fig. 2 is a similar view, showing the parts in their operative positions, the mixing and distributing unit having been swung through an angle of 180 relative to the supporting vehicle;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional-plan view,part1y diagrammatic, of the mixing and distributing unit.

Fig. 4 is an end elevational View of the apparatus, as seen from the left of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is'a fragmentary vertical sectional view, taken approximately on the planes indicated by the line 5-5 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a plan View, partly in section, of the 1 Claim. (Cl. 259160) forward portion of the vehicle chassis and its associated tongue structure; I

Fig. '7 is an enlarged sectional view, taken on the plane indicated by theline 'l'l of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 is an end view of the parts shown in Fig. '7, as seen from the left thereof.

In the said drawings, indicates the chassis of a road vehicle ofv the semi-trailer type, comprising longitudinal members It and cross members ll. The said chassis is mounted upon ground engaging wheels is and carries a pedestal structure l9 and a plurality of rollers 2i) constituting a turntable upon which a framework 2| is mounted for horizontal rotational movement about a king pin 22. Within the said framework a conventional concrete mixing drum 23 is mounted upon rollers 2d for rotation about a horizontal axis, which drum has a charging chute or hopper 25 associated with a charging opening in one end wall of the drum. A charging skip 26, similar to those commonly employed with concrete mixers of the paving type, is pivotally mounted in the framework M at 21' and is adapted to be raised by means of cables 28 from a charge receiving position, such as is illustrated in Fig. 2, to an elevated position in which it discharges the materials into the chute 25 which conducts them to the interior of the drum.

An internal combustion engine or otherfsuitable motor 30 is mounted on the framework 2!, and as best shown in Fig. 3, drives a jack shaft 3! through a chain and sprocket drive 32; The said jack shaft drives a main shaft 33 through a chain and sprocket drive 34, which main shaft 1 drives the mixing drum 23 through a chain and sprocket drive 35. The main shaft 33'carrie's the driving element of a friction clutch 36 which is adapted to be controlled by a fluid pressure cylinder and piston device 31; and the driven element of said clutch, through a chain and sprocket drive 33, drives a countershaft 39 which is provided with a friction brake Mlcontrolled by a fluid pressure cylinder and piston device M. The countershaft 39 carries a bevel pinion 42 which meshes with a bevel gear 43 carried by a transverse shaft 45 which also carries a pair of winding drums 45 upon which the skip cables 28 are wound.

The opposite end wall of the drum 23 is provided witha discharge opening 59 (Fig, 4') adjafcent which a discharge, chutel (Fig. 5) mounted by a shaft 52 for swinging movements into and out of the drum. The said chute may :be operated by a fluid pressure piston and cylinder device 51 or by means of any appropriate power driven mechanism, such for example as that disclosed in U. S. Patent No. 1,415,411, granted May 9, 1922. A bin or receptacle 53 is ,mounted in the framework 2| in position to receive the concrete discharged from the drum by the chute 5| ,Which receptacle has a discharge jpassage 54 normally closed by a gate 55 controlled V by a fluid pressure cylinder and piston device. 56.

At the rear end of the framework 2 ltwin latervices 65, pivotally connected at 66 to the framework 2| and at 61 to the towers, are provided for raising and lowering the towers about their fpivotal connection 6!, between a horizontal traveling position (shown in Fig. 1) and a vertical operating position, shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4.

Each tower structure 60 is provided with verjtical guide members 10 and H which, in the elevated position of the towers, aline with and form continuations of like guide members 10' and II respectively, carried by the base structures 62.

1A hoist bucket 12 is slidably mounted upon the forward pair of guides H, being movable up and down thereon by a hoist cable 13 which is trained over sheaves 14 carried by the cat head 63 and extends downwardly through one of the tower jstructures 60 to a winding drum '55 disposed in the base 62 of such tower.

Said drum is mounted upon a shaft 16 journaled on the frame 2|, and a clutch 11 is provided for coupling the shaft and drum, which clutch is adapted to be engaged and disengaged by means of a fluid pressure cylinder and piston device 18. The drum is also provided with'a friction brake 19 whereby it may be locked against rotation, which brake is controlled by a fluid pressure cylinder and piston device 80.

The rearward guide members 19, Hi constitute a trackway for a distributing hopper 85, having a qdischarge controlling gate '85. In the operative 1 position of the parts, this hopper is elevated to any desired height (up to apoint just below the jcat head 63, as shown in Fig. 4) by a cable 8'! anchored to the cat head and trained about sheaves 88 carried by the h'opper and a sheave 85 mounted on the cat head, from whichit exltends downwardly within the other tower 60 to a winding drum 9!! located within the base structure 62 of such tower (see Fig. 3). This drum is carried by a shaft 9! to which it may be coupled by a clutch 92, and a friction brake 93 is provided to lock the drum against rotation when desired.

The shafts TB and 9| are driven fro-m the mixing jdrum 23 by a chain and sprocket drive 94.

In the traveling position of the parts the distributing hopper 85 is lowered to a position adjacent the base structures 62 of the towers, as shown in .Fig. 1, being here guided and supported by the fixed guide members 10' carried by such struc- .tures. tioned adjacent the tower bases on the fixed guide members ll, and the towers 60 may then be The hoisting bucket 12 is likewise posilowered by their fluid pressure devices 65 to the horizontal position shown in Fig. 1. The charging skip 26 is partially raised and held by the brake 40 in substantially the position shown in said figure.

The frame 2| and the parts carried thereby are rotatable on the turntable structure I9, 20, 22 through 360, and since the bucket 12 must be lowered to ground level, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, to receive a batch from the receptacle 53, in order that the apparatus may be operative when turned .to the position shown in these figures, the chassis I5 of the semi-trailer is constructed to provide an open space or well Hill at its forward end through which the said bucket may be lowered.

The chassis I5 is provided with a tongue structure llll having a suitable coupling I82 for readily detachable connection to any appropriate form of tractor road vehicle (not shown) which tongue normally projects forwardly as illustrated in Fig. 1. However, in order that the skip 26 may be lowered to charge-receiving position when the,

frame 2| is in the Fig. 1 position relative to the trailer, the tongue structure I0! is retractably mounted on the longitudinal members is of the chassis by rollers I05. The tongue may thus be moved rearwardly, i. e., toward the right as viewed in Fig. 1, to a position in which it will clear the skip when the latter is lowered to the Fig. 2 position.

Jacks or equivalent adjustable supports I06 are preferably provided at each corner of the frame 2!, for engagement with the ground surface during operation of the machine, as shown in Fig. 2, to stabilize the apparatus and take the load off the tires of the trailer wheels IS.

The receptacle 53 provides a storage chamber 7 tending to smooth out inequalities between production and distribution of the mixture. That is to say, at times the supply of raw materials to the skip 26 may lag, during which, for at least short periods, distribution by means of the bucket 12 and hopper 85 may continue by drawing on the reserve in chamber 53. lAt other times distribution may be temporarily held up, whereupon concrete from the drum 23 may be accumulated in the said chamber.

Any well known form of chuting arrangement, such asis widely used in stationary tower distribution systems, may be attached to the towers 6B in position to receive the concrete from the hopper 85 and conduct it by gravity to th point of use.

The fluid pressure devices 55 are preferably hydraulic, and for supplying liquidunder pressure for their operation, a pump H9 (Fig. 3) may be provided, driven by a chain and sprocket drive, Hi from the shaft 3!. The fluid pressure devices 37, M, 55, 51, i8 and 89 may be hydraulic,

in which case they would also b supplied by the pump 1 I0 but they are preferably pneumatic, be-

ing supplied with air under pressure by an air compressor H2, also driven from the shaft 3| by a chain and sprocket drive H 3; The fluid connections to the several devices may be conventional and are not shown.

What is claimed is:

In a mobile concrete mixing and distributing apparatus having a framework, and a powerdriven mixing drum mounted thereon: a pair of laterally spaced skeleton towers respectively hinged to base structures carried by said framework and movable between a horizontal inoperative position and a vertical operativ position; power means for raising andlowering said tower structures in unison; an elevating bucket and a distributing hopper eachslidably mounted by the towers between them; a hoisting mechanism disposed in each of the tower base structures, for raising and lowering the bucket and hopper respectively; and common means for driving said hoisting meehanisms from the mixing drum.

DON C. PORTER.

HVREFERENCES CITED Number 6 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Spaulding Apr. 4, 1911 Heine 1 Sept, 18, 1923 Bager Apr. 17, 1934 Strayer Jan. 13, 1942 Farrell May 25, 1943 Bushnell et a1 Mar. 17, 1931 Longenecker et a1 Nov. 1, 1938 Hamren May 16, 1933 

